How do you revive the Muppets? Those beloved pop culture characters remain universally revered online. Just ask the “tea lizard” memes or posts praising Kermit’s fashion sense. However, Disney has struggled over the last 22 years to figure out what to do with these characters or how to make them work in modern pop culture. 2005’s The Muppets Wizard of Oz was a snarkfest that proved dialing up the raunch itself isn’t a recipe to make Gonzo as popular as Shrek. Meanwhile, the 2015-2016 sitcom The Muppets suffered a massive identity crisis while indulging in an old hat Office/Parks & Recreation/Modern Family mockumentary shooting style.
In contrast, 2011’s The Muppets was one of the best movies of that year through embracing sincerity and old-school musical cinema charm. Fretting over whether or not Kermit and his banjo could work in the 21st century? Who has time for that when there’s “travel by map” jokes and musical numbers like “Me Party” to execute? Director James Bobin, screenwriter/leading man Jason Segel, and company embraced kooky harmonious concepts like the “Man or Muppet” musical number that could only fit within this Muppety universe.
Similar confidence and “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” vibes permeate the 2026 Muppet Show special. Rather than retrofitting the Muppets into whatever’s trending right now, these delightful characters once more deliver an off-kilter variety show full of toe-tapping toes and chaos. 2011’s The Muppets resurrected MGM Technicolor musical energy for the contemporary cinema scene. This Muppet Show special, meanwhile, delivers peak variety show fun for modern airwaves stuffed full of Love is Blind and Yellowstone.
Given that The Muppets already wrung a fun yarn out of procuring the old Muppet Show theater, this Muppet Show’s writers (which include Albertina Rizzo and Nedda Sweiss) wisely eschew any larger plot machinations on how or why the Muppets are returning now. Instead, things hit the ground running with Kermit (Matt Vogel) and Rowlf (Bill Barretta, once more playing my favorite Muppet) chatting about how they’re “doing the show again.”
This means the special can immediately leap into a series of amusing vignettes, including Rizzo and other rats crooning a Weeknd tune, a Jane Austen-ish spiritual successor to Pigs in Space entitled Pigs in Wigs, and various antics with special guest star Sabrina Carpenter. All the while, there’s a recurring problem involving scheduling. Specifically, there are too many Muppet performers wanting to flaunt their stuff in this special. Kermit is struggling to cram everyone into one night of entertainment. He might even have to cut some people…including the famously temperamental Miss Piggy (Eric Jacobson).
I adore The Muppets. However, it does take more than seeing Kermit clutching a banjo again to earn my stamp of approval. 2013’s misguided and bloated Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular proved this, ditto The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz. Happily, though, this new Muppet Show special checks of all the boxes for spirited fun and entertainment. Part of that is its full-on embrace of slapstick chaos. The Muppet Show’s pilot episode was entitled “Sex & Violence,” after all. Punches and explosions run deep in the blood of these characters.
That legacy remains intact here. It’s a hoot to witness Carpenter fling crude male Muppets around on-stage or doors slam down on poor Kermit. There’s even a hysterical gag involving a special guest star dying…and then getting resurrected in an especially violent fashion. Better yet, the creative minds behind this project haven’t forgotten about another critical Muppet component: music. After the two Bobin Muppet movies, Disney’s seemed shy about letting the Muppets croon ditties. That’s eschewed here, as musical delights drive the special.
It helps that sublime singer and entertainer Carpenter is on hand, delivering plenty of harmonizing. Her chicken-accompanied rendition of “Manchild” is already a treat. However, her later “Islands in the Stream” duet with Kermit sounds seriously heavenly. Exceptional vocal chops just makes it all the funnier when chaos or a Miss Piggy karate chop comes in to capsize things. Best of all, director Alex Timbers and company rely on multiple tunes recorded after 2010. Leaning on The Weeknd and Carpenter makes this a Muppet Show on the wavelength of modern, younger viewers. It’s not just a nostalgia trip for souls who’ve memorized The Great Muppet Caper.
With those welcome flourishes rooted in the modern world, though, comes reveling in the timeless Muppet elements. The personalities of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, they’re all here and as enjoyable as they were back in the 1970s. It’s impressive how every familiar face (right down to Scooter, Janice, and Robin) feels like you’re seeing old friends again rather than hollow simulacrums of pop culture icons.
Best of all, they’re not just rigidly regurgitating their past lines or striking familiar poses. They’re instead delivering new gags and bursts of chaos. The personalities remain consistent, but they’ve got exciting new jokes to deliver. This character-based feat is especially noteworthy given this 32-minute enterprise’s go-go-go pacing. Even operating at breakneck speed, this Muppet Show special entertainingly uncovers tiny moments reminding viewers why these characters endure.
If there’s one foible, though, needing ironing out should this (God willing) get ordered to series, it’s the camerawork. Timbers and the writers predominantly imbue this Muppet Show special with an aesthetic harkening back to 70s variety shows. This includes a reliable laugh track and punny jokes that would make The Carol Burnett Show proud.
Visually, though, this Muppet Show special deploys standard digital camerawork and filmic imagery. The latter’s especially apparent in a climactic wide shot capturing a nervous, full-body Kermit confronting the theater’s audience. The crisp HD imagery and blocking sometimes undercut the retro charms of the characters and writing. There’s no need to mimic the exact visual rhythms of the original Muppet Show. Just a little more consistency between the camerawork and old-school writing would clear up this issue faster than you can say “the continuing stoooory of a quack who’s gone to the dogs.”
A climactic musical number sees Kermit and pals singing Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.” As they perform, the endearing singers especially emphasize “I don’t want to stop at allllll.” It’s an obvious plea to Disney executives to keep this enterprise going for more episodes. I’m right there with them. This Muppet Show special is a delightful, smile-inducing affair packed with witty lines (Scooter’s “wow, that door wasn’t even locked!” comment had me cackling) deftly balancing the old and new. Just as 2011’s The Muppets vibrantly reminded viewers of how delightful vintage musical movies could be, this new Muppet Show special vividly reaffirms the charms of sublime variety television entertainment. Turns out the Judd Apatow comedy renaissance was worth it just for propelling two dudes (Segel and now Rogen) who apparently made it their life’s mission to show Disney how to properly revive the Muppets.
The 2026 Muppet Show special is now streaming on Disney+.
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